What students say about EHL

30-06-2005

" I have learned to see the human being in each person, including in my enemy. " (Morocco)

" In my future profession, who knows, I might find myself in a situation of armed conflict. In that case, I want to act right and be able to live with it . " (Serbia)

" It has also made me aware that other people’s lives are as important as my own life " (USA)

" I never knew or thought about this kind of thing before. I think that people all over the world need to know this. It’s only right. " (USA)

" This is something new, but it’s old, but it’s true. We heard of the Nuremberg and stuff about WWII in other classes, but it didn’t really mean anything… now I understand why it’s important. " (USA)

" It gives you a whole new perspective, a bigger perspective. It changed the way I think. " (USA)

" If there were no rules, everything would go crazy…Also, the materials make people, who don’t have thoughts of other people, think. " (Denmark)

" IHL should be implemented during our own normal life, not only during armed conflict. " (Yemen)

" This programme should be taught to all children all over the world . " (Yemen)

" Formerly, I was convinced that prisoners of war must be killed, but after I have been taught IHL concepts, I have another opinion: I believe that all POWs should be treated with humanity whatever their nationality is. " (Yemen)

" This should be taught as widely as possible as soon a possible to adults in regular education, to the next generation, to the public in all countries of the world. IHL must be explored so that it becomes part of everybody’s ethics. " (Serbia)

" Before, I thought that war was just killing and destruction. Now I think of the victims and their plight. " (Morocco)

" I look forward to discussing such issues in the classroom, it encourages thinking. For a change the focus is on students. " (Malaysia)

" At first I felt war was very distant, but in reality it is something we need to learn about. " (Thailand)

" The question is this: If I do learn this at school in the 10th grade, then when I have become a soldier and I'm in a war situation (...), will the

fact that I learned that the law exists prevent me from doing something now ? " (Israel)

" It's difficult to make this distinction (civilian-combatant). A person may be a soldier a week ago and when he returns home to rest, he will be a

civilian. " (Area under Palestinian Authority)

" When you hear that soldiers massacre civilians, you are like'How could somebody do that ?'It is just that when someone is trying to kill you (...) you get into a completely different mindset. " (USA)

" It's not them, the soldiers who are responsible, it's their leaders (...). " (Djibouti)

" Do not harass the innocents; fight your enemy soldier directly and not civilians. " (Liberia)